Golf club



A11816' 1927' c. s. BUTCHART GOLF CLUB Filed June 4. 1926 Patented Aug. 16, 1927.

1,638,916? UNITED sTATEs PATENT oFFlcE.

' yC'I'JTLBCEBL S. BUTCHABT, 0F BYE, NEW YORK.4

GOIILIIEl alipnoauon md :une 4,

' ing face ofthe club head with the ball is to.

a certain degree cushioned b the lateral compression ofthe fibers of t e wood, but this is undesirable as it, to a degree, minimizes the impactive force ldelivered to the ball, with the result that the ball is not driven as great a distance as it would be if the head possessed no cushioning qualities whatsoever. Therefore, it is one of the ob jects of the present invention to provide a golf club head so constructedy thatthe full force of the blow delivered to the ball will be effective and there will be no cushioning whatsoever of the impact.

Another disadvantage presented by golf club heads of wood, or more specifically of one-piece wood construction, is that, because of the contour of the head, it is necessary to employ some weighting means embedded in the head to obtain the proper balance, but the amount of weighting material employed and the location of the same is a matter 'requirin considerable ex eriment if the best resu ts are to be obtained. Therefore, the present invention has, as another im ortant object, to provide a golf club hea comprising a she l-like body of one piece of metal, and an impact member housed therein and in the nature of a block of wood so shaped, proportioned, and lor cated, as to provide for vprecise balancing and weighting of the head without resort to any of the extraneous weighting and balancing means which have heretofore been employed, theblockhaving the grain running between its opposite faces, one of which faces constitutes the impact or driving face of the club head. In this connection, the invention contemplates the iselection of woods of varying degrees of specific gravity, so that the desired weighting of the head as a whole may be obtained, the contour of the at 'the grain is presented Sidel likewise 4assist in securin within the said body of tli CLUB.

1926. Serial No. 118,818. y

block and its disposition withinthe head 'determining the balancing of the head.

Another disadvantage presented by solid wooden golf club heads having wooden Shanks or necks,` is that the shaft ends must be united thereto by a wrapping or bindin in order to effect a secure union of the hea to the shaft but time and labor must be spent 1n performing this wrapping or binding-step, in the course of manufacture, if the connection is to `be firm and secure. Therefore, it is another important ob'ect'of the Tnvention to provide a golf clu head cons1st1ng,`as before stated, of a shell-like body of metal and an'impact block. or body of wood fitted therein, the shaft receivin neckv of the body constituting an integra part of the said metallic shell-like body and emg designed to directly receive the end of a metallic shaft, the invention contemplating displacement of the impact block with re- .spec't to the body of the head, thus rendering 1t unnecessary to employ any extraneous fastening devices for this purpose and thereby obviating any weakening of the body of the head or the block. In this connection, the invention has as a further object to provlde means for securing the end of the shaft 1n proper position assembled with the neck and body of the head and which means will ythe impact block e head.

I Another object of the invention is to so lnteriorl Yform the shell-like body of the head an so arrange the impact block ytherein that there can be no disturbance of the positioned as to exactly balance the head, so f that accurate drives may be made and likewise so that the full impactive force delivered tothe ball will be received by the ball and none of the force lost by any cushioning of the impact. In this connection, the invention contemplates'an accurate positioning of the impact block to obtain a precisely and accurately balanced club head, the center of gravity of .the head, as .awhole, being precisely in a ve'rtical plane withthe axis of the shaft with which the head is associated.

A further object of the invention is to provide a golf club head so constructed that, it will withstandwear for a greater period of time and more eifectually than solid wood heads or heads having the major portion of their surface area of wood, thereby obviating the employment of sole plates, inserts, or any other expedients usually employed lto protect the head.

head, a portion of the bottom of the shell body of the head being broken away and a .as will be observed portion being shown in section to better illustrate the construction.

Figure 3 is a vertical vlongitudinal sectional view taken substantially on the line 3 3 of Figure 2, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Figure 4 is a vertical transverse sectional view through the head at the intermediate portion thereof.

The golfclub head embodying the invention includes a shell-like body which is indicated in general by the numeral 1 and this body is made of some suitable metal such for example as an aluminum alloy and is integral thoughout, the body being provided with an integral'neck which is indicated by the numeral 2. The shell-like body l is exteriorly of the contour usually given golf club heads of the driver type, and has the usual sole 3, toe 4, and heel 5. The side of the shell-like bdy which corresponds to the driving face of the head is open and the edges of the walls of the body at this side thereof are located in an inclined plane corresponding to the usual inclination given the driving face of such a club as that referred to. The bod 1 is hollow although,

reference to the several fi uresl of the rawings, the walls of the bo y are not of uniform thickness. More specifically, the body is provided interiorly with a seating recess or socket which is indicated by] the numeral 6 and which opens through t e driving face of the body and is, from front to rear, of a uniform contour substantially identical with the contour of the driving or impact face of the ordinary golfclub head as clearly shown in Figure 1 of the drawings. This recess or s ocket 6 is intended to accommodate theV impact and weighting and balancing block which will l hereinafter be more specifically described, and it will be y:iobserured that said socket extends into the. body to a point more than midway-between what ma be considered as the driving face of the bo y and the bac-k 5',

the inner end of the socket being defined by a shoulder l7 which is produced by forming a cavity 8 in the body at the back portion thereof.v -The shoulder 7 is continuous as will be observed by a comparison of Figures 2 and 4 of the drawings, and occupies a vertical plane parallel to the vertical .plane occupied by the axis of the club shaft, or, the

- axis vof the neck 2.

the contour of the inner surface of the walls of the socket 6 and of dimensions to fit with such exactness in the socket as to require it to be forced by pressure into place within the socket at the time the parts are assembled in the course of manufacture. The block has an inclined face 10 which'may be of slightly curvilinear contour in a longitudinal direction, or entirely flat, as may be desired, and the opposite face of the block, which is indicated by the numeral 11, is so disposed that when the block is in position within the shell-like body of the head this face will occupy the same plane as the shoulder 7 and, in fact, will marginally not only snugly contact or abut the said shoulder but will preferably be united thereto by some suitable adhesive, aslindicated by the numeral 12. It will be observed by reference to the drawings, that the grain of the wood block comprising the member 9 runs longitudinally between the faces 10 and 11 of the block'so that the grain is presented en'dwise at the said face 10, which face is very smoothly dressed and finished and is flush with the margins of the walls of the socket 6 at the open side of the socket, as clearly shown in Figure 4 of the drawings. At this point, itfwill be evident that when the block is forced into place within the socket 6 in the head of the club, in position with its face 11 abutting the shoulder 7, there can be no further movement of the block into the body of the head, regardless of the impactive forces to which the block is subjected. It will likewise be evident that inasmuch as the grain of the block runs longitudinallyl between the faces 1() and 11 thereof and, therefore, directly in a line with the impactive force to which the block is pacting face of the hea'd. It will be observed, 1

' of the bore.

subjected when the driving face 10 impacts the golf ball, there is no appreciable vlbration of the fibers of the blockof such nature as would tend to cushion said force and 1mpair the driving force of the blow asis the case where the grain, in the ordinary golf club' head, runssubstantially parallel to the imparticularly by reference to Figures 2 and 4 of the drawings, that the center of gravlty of the member 9 is directly in the vertical plane of the axis of the neck 2 and consequently in the same plane as the axis of the shaft of the club so that the head is precisely balanced.\ The back portion of the body 1 of the head, being hollow and likewise of an aluminum alloy which is comparatively light, does not in any way overbalance the head of the club, the mass of the block 9 and the disposition of this block within the body 1 of the head and with respect to the axis of the shaft of the club serving to effect this precise balancing of the head.

It'will be understood that inasmuch as the block 9 is tightly fitted into the socket 6, no moisture can enter the interior of the shell-like body l of the head to cause deterioration ofthe said block, the impacting face of the block being preferably finished with a waterproof varnish or other finishing material.l

The bore of the neck 2 is indicated by the numeral 13 and the said bore is continued in a downward direction through the inner through the under side of the said head atthe heel thereof, as clearly shown in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings. yThe line of extent of the bore 13 of the neck 2 is such that at its lower end its forward side opens into the socket 6, and the block 9 is formed with a transversely curved rece 14 in its corresponding end, the curvature of the recess conformlng to the contour of the wall The shaft of the club, which is indicated by the numeral 15, and which is of metal, is fitted into the bore 13 and extends to the extreme lower end of the bore where the said end of the shaft is beveled so as to be flush with the under side of the body 1. It will be observed that a portion of the lower end of the shaft 15 fills the recess 14 so that in this manner the said end of the shaft acts as a key to securely lock the block 9 against any outward displacement from the socket 6. A plug 16, preferably of wood, is fitted into the lower end of the shaft 15, and a pin or other suitable securing element 17 is driven through :the lower end of the stem 2, through diametrically opposite openings A18 in the said lower end of the shaft, through the plug 16, and y into the block 9, thus securely anchoring the said end of the shaft in place and likewise further securing the block 9 so that it cannot become outwardly displaced from the socket y 6. Not `only does the pin 17 serve to secure these parts together in the manner stated, but it also serves to secure theshaft in the neck Without the employment of any binding means.

It will be understood that thev formation of the cavity 8 in the back of the club head serves to reduce the weight of this portion of the head so that the member 9 may be depended upon to serve the purpose of the weighting and balancing medium of the head and, therefore, bya selection of woods such as those heretofore referred to and having. Ydifferent specific gravities, a complete head may be produced having precisely the desired weight and in each and every instance the head will be recisely-balanced.

Having thus described t e invention, what I claim is:

1. A golf club head comprising an integral metallic body having a socket opening through its driving face and provided interiorl Mwith a shoulder extending continuousl a out the wall of the socket, the said body eing recessed beyond the said shoulder. to minimize weight of material, and a combined, weighting, balancing and impacting body of wood within the socket having a side marginally abutting the said shoulder.

2. A golf club comprising a head consisting of an integral metal body having a socket opening through lits driving side, a tubular neck lntegral with and extending from the body, a combined weighting, balancing and impacting body within the socket having a recess yregistering with the bore of the said neck, and a, shaft fitting into the saidI neck and engaging in the recess in the imm5 pacting body and, by such engagement, securing the impacting body in the socket.

3. A olf club comprising a head havin a socket t erein and provided lwith a tubu ar neck extending therefrom, an impacting no member within the socket havinga recess registering with the bore of the neck, and

a shaft fitted into the bore of the neck and engaging in the recess whereby to secure the said body Within the socket. 115

4. A golf club comprising a head consisting of an inte al metal body Vhaving a socket openin t rough its drivin side and provided wit a shoulder exten ing about the wall of the socket, a tubular neck integral with and extending from the body,

a combined weightin balancing and impacting body within t e socket having a. recess registering with the bore in the said neck, the body at its inner face abutting the.125 said shoulder, and a shaft fitted into the said neck and engaging in the recess in the impacting body and, by such en agement, securing the impacting body in t e socket.

5. A golf club comprising a head consisting of an integral metal body having a.

socket opening through its driving side, a tubular neck integral with and extending. from the body, a combined weighting, balancing'and impacting body Within the socket having a, recess registerin with the bore of the said neck, a. shaft ttingiinto the said neck and engaging in the recess in the impacting body and, by such engagement, securing the impacting body in the socket, and a, securing element driven through the 10 said shaft and the Wall of the body of the head and into the impacting body.

In ytestimony whereof I affix my signature.

CUTHBERT' S. BUTCHART. [Ls] 

